The website, which started off as a gag between friends, is now getting 5 million hits a day, said one of its creators, Luke Wherry, 23.

“We were in Wal-Mart one afternoon, walking through the dairy section, and we saw a slightly overweight woman in a tube top and stripper boots, and she had a kid on one of those child leashes,” Wherry said. “We shook our heads and it was kind of like a light bulb went off.”

Launched Aug. 2, People of Walmart is a peek under America’s circus tent that is at once hilarious, nauseating and terrifying. Once you start scrolling its pages, you may not be able to stop.

Fashion crimes like mullets, mesh shirts and midriffs hanging from skin-tight shorts are only the beginning.

There are people strolling the aisles with animals, including a parrot, a monkey and a goat.

There are cars in the parking lots repaired with wood, spray painted with slogans like “Git ‘er done,” or stuffed with the carcasses of freshly hunted game.

There’s a handcuffed youth in his underwear, face down on the floor, surrounded by police officers, which just begs the question, how does one expect to shoplift without clothes?

There’s a woman shopping as her toddler plays with a clear, plastic produce bag over her head. Did whoever shot this photo think of calling child protective services?

Wal-Mart would not comment on the website. Why dignify it with a remark? Except that it’s getting mentions from media giants – including ABC, NBC and CNN – and a showcased link on Yahoo.

Besides, what else can idled people do in a recession besides play with their cellphone cameras at Wal-Mart?

“Since they are the world’s largest retailer, and they have so many customers, the odds of seeing something ridiculous every time you go are pretty good,” Wherry said.

Wherry is currently unemployed and living in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

“I just graduated college,” he said. “I was working at a job making $8 an hour. I can’t afford anything. That’s why I go to Wal-Mart.”

Wherry’s co-creators are Andrew Kipple, 23, a law student in Indiana who writes most of the headlines, and Andrew’s brother Adam, 25, a Web designer in Myrtle Beach. They grew up together near Pittsburgh.

“We’re from the boonies,” Adam Kipple said. “If you want to talk about waking up at 6 a.m. and helping your buddy with farm work, that was me.”

People of Walmart also displays its “hate mail.” Much of it complains that the site looks down upon the poor and rural folk stung most by the recession.

“This is pretty much one of the most pathetic websites I’ve seen lately,” one reader wrote. “I could just imagine what the losers look like who put it together.”

But Kipple says that in America, even the poorest of the poor can find adequate clothing.

“The basic statement behind the site is, ‘Just think before you go out of the house,'” he said. “There’s no reason why you can’t go to Goodwill and buy a whole T-shirt.

“There is no reason to go out of the house with a mesh shirt,” he said “Do you want to see a 400 pound woman with a pink tank top?”

So has he ever committed a fashion crime?

“In fifth grade, I had a rat tail,” he conceded, “but that’s when it was cool.”

Few people photographed on the site have complained, but Wherry says he’s responsive when they do: “We don’t even argue with it. We take the picture down and send them an apology.”

One reader griped about a photo of a man with a mullet and torn shorts, playing video games: “The picture’s kind a blurry, but I think it’s my dad.”

People of Walmart is not intended as a slam on Wal-Mart. Kipple said he bristled at the film “Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price.”

“Wal-Mart is running people out of business, but they do it the American way,” Kipple said. “I hate saying it, but Wal-Mart did it right. Wal-Mart does what business should do.”

People of Walmart is turning into a business, too, generating more than $1,000 in advertising revenue per day, its creators said.

Along with providing satire, humor, and social commentary, the pop culture site aims to raise money for charities. It’s now soliciting donations for the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.

It could be a boon for Wal-Mart, too.

Said Wherry: “We’re getting a lot of people sending us emails saying ‘I stopped going to Wal-Mart six years ago, but I’ll go now to take pictures.”

More in Business

Boulder County 4-H officials prohibited a gun display as an addition to this year’s annual tack show Feb. 24 at the Boulder County Fairgrounds just hours before 15-year-old 4-H member Tegan Brown told leaders she would not attend the event if firearms were present.

McDonald’s Happy Meal is about to get a makeover. On Thursday, the fast-food chain announced new nutrition standards for its kids’ meals and a series of upcoming menu swaps designed to make options for children healthier.

It happens in so many workplaces — two colleagues begin a romantic relationship. But a heightened awareness about sexual harassment means small business owners can get more anxious when employees start dating.